Art of Branding

Here are some excerpts from an interview of Sandra Day O’Conner by Walter Isaacson at the Aspen Institute

Are you happy that a woman, Sonia Sotomayor, has been nominated to fill the latest vacancy on the Supreme Court?

I should say so. I was disappointed when I stepped down that I wasn’t replaced by a woman. It’s important for people to look around and see that women, who make up slightly more than 50 percent of the population, are represented on the court.

Judge Sotomayor’s supporters say that her background and life story would make her a good addition to the court. Should such things matter in picking a justice?

We’re all creatures of our upbringing. We bring whatever we are as people to a job like the Supreme Court. We have our life experiences. For example, for me it was growing up on a remote ranch in the West. If something broke, you’d have to fix it yourself. The solution didn’t always have to look beautiful, but it had to work. So that made me a little more pragmatic than some other justices. I liked to find solutions that would work.

Do you think empathy is an important quality for a justice, as President Obama has said?

I’m not quite sure what that means. I have always tried to set aside emotional feelings when deciding a case. When you’re deciding an abstract principle, I don’t think it’s helpful to have an emotional attachment. But you do have to have an understanding of how some rule you make will apply to people in the real world. I think that there should be an awareness of the real-world consequences of the principles of the law you apply.

Click here for the full interview.

Excerpt:

Inappropriate Clothes

Our body movements aren’t the only things sending silent signals to our co-workers, bosses or clients. Low-cut shirts, short skirts, too much makeup and even overwhelming perfume can give the message that you are not to be taken seriously. “You see a female CEO interviewed on TV, and the first thing [pundits] comment on is what she’s wearing,” says Catherine Kaputa, executive coach and author of The Female Brand. Kaputa recommends looking at women in high positions at work or on TV–she cites Nancy Pelosi as an example–and emulating the way they dress and carry themselves.

For the full article in Forbes.com

I was thinking about women in business more than usual over the last two years since I was working on my new book, The Female Brand. I spoke to over 150 women and one of the questions was about who is harder on women in business, men or other women.

Since my survey was qualitative – not quantitative – I didn’t end up hard numbers. Yet, answers were divided about 50/50 between women being helpful versus unhelpful to their gender.

So I was interested in reading an article in the New York Times about gender bias in the theater done by a student at Princeton with several economists weighing in on its quality.

In one study, the researcher sent identical scripts to artistic directors and literary managers around the country. The only difference was that half named a man as the writer (such as Michael Walker) and the other half had a woman’s name (such as Mary Walker).

Bottom line, Mary’s scripts got significantly worse ratings in terms of quality, economic prospects and audience response than Michael’s did.

The punch line?

The negative evaluations all came from female artistic directors and literary managers. “Men rate men and women playwrights exactly the same,” according to the Princeton researcher.

One of the points in my new book, The Female Brand, is the difference between the female and male styles of networking. Based on my research and experience with clients, as a rule men have much wider – albeit shallower – networks than women have, while women prefer deeper relationships with a smaller number of people. Evolutionary psychologists trace this back to women’s traditional role in the home.

A small group of deep relationships provides women with a reliable source of support and advice, but in the wider world of careers and brand building, a small, though intensely committed group is not as advantageous as a large network of contacts even if they are superficial. In my research, I also found that women, unlike men, were less likely to ask for a favor or introduction unless they know someone well while men didn’t feel constrained.

That same tendency may be apparent in a recent Harvard Business Publishing study on Twitter usage. Though men and women follow a similar number of users, men have 15% more followers than women. “Men have more reciprocated relations, in which two users follow each other,” according to the report. The study also pointed out that women seem to be less compelled to have followers or “have more stringent thresholds for reciprocating relationships.”

Many Say Women’s Leadership Skills Needed in the Workplace

By ANITA BRUZZESE, Gannett

June 21, 2009—

As the economic debacle of the last year is reviewed and dissected, there are more than a few who note that if women had been in charge on Wall Street, some of the financial risks would not have been taken and we’d be in much better shape right now.”Women don’t tend to bet the farm because their children live there,” says Betty Spence, president of the National Association for Female Executives.”People used to say it was a drawback that women were risk averse, but I don’t think they’re saying that anymore.”

That doesn’t mean women don’t have a thing or two to learn. While women make up nearly half the American work force, and the number of women who are breadwinners has grown with the shake-up in the economy, some women business leaders admit that women still need to improve some of their business savvy.

For example, Spence notes that more women need to “understand the power of the profit and loss positions and what it means to be in charge of the money that’s coming in and out.”

“They need to start positioning themselves very early in their careers to be on that track,” she says.

A recent Development Dimensions International study of global leadership found that not nearly as many women are in accelerated-development

programs as early in their careers as men, which means their chances for executive promotion diminish. Specifically, there were 28% more men in first level leadership programs, while at the executive level, there were 50% more men than women in the high-potential programs.

Still, the case is being strongly made that women are good for business, and companies that want to survive _ and thrive _ in a global economy need to understand that. Studies have shown women to be more collaborative, more inclusive, more flexible and more empathetic, which President Obama said was important when making his final determinations for a Supreme Court nominee.

Catherine Kaputa recently interviewed more than 150 women for her new book, “The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business,” and she says it’s clear that women take a more “holistic” approach to doing business.

“Companies these days are global, and it’s important to build a consensus. Women are empathetic _ they can see the other point of view and that makes other people really feel like they’re being heard. They come out of the experience feeling good,” Kaputa says. “You alienate people if you don’t listen to them and communicate.”

Spence notes that women have different management styles than men _ but not different skills.”Women are what the 21st century needs. They’re good for business. We can’t afford not to have them at the top,” Spence says.

Still, both Spence and Kaputa note that women still need to work on several areas of business leadership in order to be more successful, including:

- Better networking. “Men are much more likely to help anyone, even someone they barely know,” Kaputa says. “Women think they need to know someone fairly well in order to help them so women don’t have as many contacts as men. That’s a weakness in business.”

One example of that may be evident in a recent Harvard Business Publishing study finding that on Twitter, while men and women “follow” a similar number of users, men have 15% more followers than women. “Men also have more reciprocated relationships, in which two users follow each other,”the report says. It was also noted that this difference may suggest that women are less compelled to have followers, “or have more stringent thresholds for reciprocating relationships.”

- Establishing a strong personal brand. “Women often underplay what they’ve done and the problem is when you do that, people will start to believe you,’ Kaputa says. “Women have to get better at promoting themselves _ what they stand for, what makes them different than someone else. They need to fight for their message.”

- Doing their homework. “Women still don’t expect a glass ceiling, but it’s there and they need to be prepared. They should do their due diligence and work for companies that have women on the board of directors or in other leadership positions,” Spence says. “They’re much more likely to rise in such organizations and be paid the same as men.”

- Setting aside doubts. “Some women have this deep-seated fear that they’re not good enough to lead,” Kaputa says. “They have this collaborative style that makes them become servant leaders. But they need to just lead. They need to stick their hand up, volunteer to do things and take on leadership roles. They need to see themselves as leaders.”

Both Spence and Kaputa agree that besides the strong communication and collaborations skills women bring to the table, they may be in the best position to attract the younger talent needed in the coming years to remain competitive. For example, studies say young workers often want more flexibility in their work life, as they seek to have a better balance of work/life issues. They also believe in more collaboration, better communication about what an organization is doing and want access to more opportunities.

“Young people are demanding all these things, and women are the ones who want these same things and have dealt with these issues,” Spence says.”Businesses can’t afford not to move women to the top.”

Today, it’s not enough to be smart and good at what you do – that’s a given. You have to stay competitive with the insights and ideas that will keep you on top tomorrow.

Historically how to get innovative insights eluded scientists. Of course, we’ve all had our “Aha” moments, but some people seem to be better at coming up with innovations and creative solutions. Is there a way to cultivate an innovative mindset?

New breakthrough research using MRI and EKG technology is shedding light on Eureka moments and how they occur. (Here’s a link to the June 19, 2009 WSJ, “A Wandering Mind Heads Straight Toward Insight” by Robert Lee Hotz: )http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124535297048828601.html#printMode

Here’s a top-line on what scientists now believe you can do to encourage business innovation and other types of insights:

• Let your mind wander.
Archimedes had his Aha moment in the bathtub and Descartes had his while watching flies on the ceiling. Not surprising in light of new research that reveals that daydreaming is a rich environment for insights.

Previously, scientists thought that not much was happening in the brain when your mind wandered. Now, research supports just the opposite. In fact, a new brain-scanning study suggest that “our brain may be most actively engaged when our mind is wandering and we’ve actually lost tract of our thoughts.” Scientists suspect that a wandering mind may catch new ideas and unexpected associations better than a methodical analysis of the facts.

• Cede control
Because Eureka moments occur in the unconscious when we aren’t consciously trying to solve a problem, they are not something we can control. Most of our creative thought is the product of neurons and nerve chemistry outside our awareness and beyond our direct control. “We often assume that if we don’t notice our thoughts, they don’t exist,” ways Dr. Cristoff in Vancouver, “When we don’t notice them is when we may be thinking most creatively.

• Think positive
Insights and innovative ideas are more likely to occur when people are in a positive mood and open to ideas according to researchers at Drexel and Northwestern. It won’t help if you are anxious and negative about coming up with a solution.

• Set the stage
Be prepared by doing your homework and studying the problem. As one scientist pointed out, “Insight favors the prepared mind.” Then let your mind wander. Sleep on it. (My most fruitful time for breakthroughs is early in the morning when I’m half asleep.) Take a walk. Soak in the tub. Scientists believe the big breakthroughs seem to come out of nowhere when we’re doing something else.

• Pay attention when the lightbulb goes off
Interestingly, a “lightbulb” does go off in the mind when you come up with an insight. Studies show that there is “a distinctive burst of gamma waves bursting out from the brain’s right hemisphere that is involved in handling associations and assembling elements of a problem.” The only difference between you and I and innovative business people is that they have the courage to entertain these bursts of insight.

See if you can set aside some time to let your mind wander toward insight and innovation.

On the Job: Women in the Workplace

“Women don’t tend to bet the farm because their children live there,”

says Betty Spence,president of the National Association for Female

Executives. “People used to say it was a drawback

that women were risk averse, but I don’t think they’re saying

that anymore.”That doesn’t mean women don’t have a thing or

two to learn. While women make up nearly half the American

work force, and the number of women who are breadwinners

has grown with the shake-up in the economy, some women

business leaders admit that women still need to

improve some of their business savvy.

For example, Spence notes that more women need to ”

understand the power of the profit and loss positions and

what it means to be in charge of the money that’s coming

in and out.”

“They need to start positioning themselves very early in their careers

to be on that track,” she says.

A recent Development Dimensions International study of global leadership

found that not nearly as many women are in accelerated-development

programs as early in their careers as men, which means their chances

for executive promotion diminish. Specifically, there were 28% more

men in first-level leadership programs, while at the executive level,

there were 50% more men than women in the high-potential programs.

Still, the case is being strongly made that women are good for business,

and companies that want to survive — and thrive — in a global economy

need to understand that. Studies have shown women to be more collaborative,

more inclusive, more flexible and more empathetic, which President Obama

said was important when making his final determinations for a Supreme Court

nominee.

Catherine Kaputa recently interviewed more than 150 women for her new book,

“The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business,” and she

says it’s clear that women take a more “holistic” approach to doing business.

“Companies these days are global, and it’s important to build a consensus.

Women are empathetic — they can see the other point of view and that

makes other people really feel like they’re being heard. They come out of

the experience feeling good,” Kaputa says. “You alienate people if you don’t

listen to them and communicate.”

Spence notes that women have different management styles than men

— but not different skills.

“Women are what the 21st century needs. They’re good for business.

We can’t afford not to have them at the top,” Spence says.

Still, both Spence and Kaputa note that women still need to work on

several areas of business leadership in order to be more successful,

including:

- Better networking. “Men are much more likely to help anyone,

even someone they barely know,” Kaputa says. “Women think they

need to know someone fairly well in order to help them so women

don’t have as many contacts as men. That’s a weakness in business.”

One example of that may be evident in a recent Harvard Business

Publishing study finding that on Twitter, while men and women

“follow” a similar number of users, men have 15% more followers

than women. “Men also have more reciprocated relationships, in

which two users follow each other,” the report says. It was also noted

that this difference may suggest that women

are less compelled to have followers, “or have more stringent

thresholds for reciprocating relationships.”

- Establishing a strong personal brand. “Women often underplay

what they’ve done and the problem is when you do that, people

will start to believe you,’ Kaputa says. “Women have to get

better at promoting themselves — what they stand for, what

makes them different than someone else. They need to fight for their message.”

- Doing their homework. “Women still don’t expect a glass ceiling,

but it’s there and they need to be prepared. They should do their due

diligence and work for companies that have women on the board of

directors or in other leadership positions,” Spence says. “They’re

much more likely to rise in such organizations and be paid the

same as men.”

- Setting aside doubts. “Some women have this deep-seated

fear that they’re not good enough to lead,” Kaputa says.

“They have this collaborative style that makes them become

servant leaders. But they need to just lead. They need to stick

their hand up, volunteer to do things and take on leadership

roles. They need to see themselves as leaders.”

Both Spence and Kaputa agree that besides the strong

communication and collaborations skills women bring to

the table, they may be in the best position to attract

the younger talent needed in the coming years to

remain competitive.

For example, studies say young workers often want

more flexibility in their work life, as they seek to

have a better balance of work/life issues. They

also believe in more collaboration, better communication

about what an organization is doing and want access

to more opportunities.

“Young people are demanding all these things, and

women are the ones who want these same things and

have dealt with these issues,” Spence says. “Businesses

can’t afford not to move women to the top.”

—

Anita Bruzzese is author of “45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy … and How to Avoid Them” (www.45things.com).

To be wildly successful in business, you need to have a distinct brand, or career identity. Self-branding means being able to articulate a simple, clear expression of who you are, doing it consistently, and delivering on it again and again, so that when people think of X, they think of you. Or when people think of you, they think of X.

To find out if you need to work on creating a stronger Brand You, answer these questions.

· Can you explain your big idea clearly in a couple of sentences, so that people know what’s different, relevant, and special about you?

· If people were to Google your name, would they find you and discover high-quality information about you and your accomplishments?

· Can you clearly define your key target markets and the best way to market yourself to them?

· Do you have a visual identity that is appealing to your target markets, consistent with what you stand for as a brand, and different from others?

· Do you have a personality and a leadership style that are assets and engage others?

If you answered “No” to any of the above questions, you have more work to do to perfect your brand image. Here are eight tips for creating a stronger self-brand.

Keep your brand focused. The more specifically you define who you are, the better your chance of selling yourself. If you come across as a Jill of All Trades, people will wonder how good you are at any one thing.

Make your brand different. Being like everyone else will stunt your success. Ask yourself: “What’s different, relevant, and special about me?” Use analogy, as in “a cross between X and Y” or “X on steroids.” Look at who you are, and then accentuate your difference.

When others zig, you should zag. Nonconformity and nontraditionalism will help you stand out from the pack. Think Obama. When everyone else was emphasizing experience, he made “change” his brand. Finding the “white space” between popular ideas sets you apart as a creative thinker.

Create a verbal identity. From a branding perspective, your first and most important decision after you nail down your brand idea is your name, or verbal identity. The best names are easy to spell, different, and short. An unusual first name is always a plus.

Create a powerful visual identity. In many ways, women have an advantage here; they have many more “imaging tools” to work with, including hair, makeup, clothes, shoes, accessories, jewelry, and colors. Like it or not, you are a package–just like a product on a shelf. Spend time thinking about how to make your image more powerful and distinct, whether it’s by working on your posture, or by updating your hairstyle.

Establish powerful alliances. You will be defined by the people, projects, causes, and organizations with whom you are allied. Obviously, an Ivy League brand is an edge. But you can earn the same cachet through alliances you create. Smart networking creates branding firepower.

Take charge of your brand. You don’t neglect your car, do you? Your personal brand needs periodic upkeep and maintenance too. Try to remember that everything you do at your job reinforces your reputation and your image. If your actions or accomplishments seem out of step with your brand–especially over time–it may be time to revisit, reinvent, and update your brand.

Define and prioritize your target market. If you work in a company, your boss is your key target market, followed by other senior executives. These are the people who have the most power over your brand, so let’s designate them your primary target market. Your secondary target market will likely include colleagues, clients, your network, and your staff. Their thoughts about you will also play an important role in your success. Focus only on your target markets, and don’t try to appeal to everyone.

When you start thinking of yourself as a brand, you discover how powerful it can be. Rather than being viewed generically as one of the worker bees, you’ll be someone who stands for something distinct and desirable–a brand. In today’s over-communicated society, the brands that stand for something relevant and build positive perceptions are the ones that succeed.

It Pays, for a Change, to Be a Woman in the Workplace

By Ted Landphair
Washington, D.C.
17 June 2009

Women workers are faring better than men in the current economic downturn, for a variety of reasons. So much so that they may soon pass men and become the majority gender in the American workplace.

One reason working women are holding their own in the recession is that auto workers and mechanics at dealerships that are closing have lost their jobs

By November of last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women had already become just more than 49 percent of the non-farm labor force. And the New York Times reports that in the current economic turndown, men have suffered 82 percent of the job losses. That’s true, in part, because struggling industries like automaking and homebuilding employ an overwhelmingly male workforce.

But there are other reasons why job prospects for women are brighter right now than they are for men. Women make less money than men in many comparable jobs. That infuriates women’s-rights advocates, but it makes women more attractive to employers who are cutting costs to weather the recession. Many industries have culled their executive and veteran workforce – men, by and large – by paying older workers to retire.

There’s far less talk of a glass ceiling for women executives, except at the highest levels. They have proved not just competent, but in many cases, superior as managers

And in some estimations, women have proved they are superior to men in certain job situations.

In her new book, The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business, Catherine Kaputa writes that women are, to use her word, “wired” for career success. They are, she says, more intuitive and empathetic than most men. And they outscore them on oral and written tests that can be critical to job placement and advancement. That’s because, Kaputa contends, women listen better than men, ask more and better questions, and put more care into their writing. And because women are, in her view, natural-born networkers and team builders, they make and keep friends who will look out for their interests in the workplace.

According to author Kaputa – a woman, it should be noted – women are better listeners than men on the job

If all this is true and is contributing to their job survival during the recession, it would represent a radical change from the days in which it was men, whose no-nonsense, work-comes-first approach gave them the edge over supposedly emotional women on the job.

[The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business, by Catherine Kaputa, is published by Davies-Black.]

The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business

Catherine Kaputa. Davies-Black (NBN, dist.), $24.95 (200p) ISBN 9780891062844

Kaputa, a marketing and branding whiz, mines anecdotes from successful women and her own personal experience to sell readers on themselves—rather than trying to be “one of the boys,” Kaputa insists, women will get further in the workplace by using the strengths unique to them.

Stuffed with self-evaluation materials, direct advice and “brainstormer” exercises, Kaputa’s work is a useful, well-organized primer on a familiar argument. While some of the generalizations are a bit heavy-handed—women have stronger verbal skills than men, women derive less satisfaction from high-level “workaholic” positions—Kaputa breaks down the idea of personal branding into manageable concepts: specialization, presentation and effective networking. In uncertain economic times, this text should prove useful for job seekers, the underemployed and those striving for advancement. (June)